The Pros and Cons of Cloud Hosting for WordPress
The concept behind cloud hosting is simple. Users can access your WordPress site from any device with an internet connection, and you don’t need to worry about providing resources for the many thousands of visitors your site may receive. Sounds incredible, right? If you’re looking for an even more in-depth review, continue reading below.
Pros Of Cloud Hosting For WordPress
Before we begin discussing the cons of cloud hosting for WordPress, it’s important to point out that as exciting as the concept of cloud hosting for WordPress may be, it’s not necessarily a perfect solution for all websites. That being said, there are some amazing benefits to the cloud model that make it a great choice for users and WordPress websites alike.
Security is one of the biggest concerns whenever a site makes the transition to the cloud. With all that computation taking place on remote servers, hackers have the perfect opportunity to find a way in and do some damage. But thanks to security plugins and dedicated server plans, which most hosts provide, this is highly unlikely to happen. Hackers cannot gain control of your site’s server unless they have physical access to it. While this scenario is a worst-case scenario, it’s important to remember that there is always the remote possibility that your site can be hacked. This is why choosing a cloud host is not a perfect solution for all WordPress sites. But with the right security measures in place, it’s among the safer choices available.
Another major pro of cloud hosting for WordPress is scalability. As your site grows, so does your resource needs. The cloud allows you to instantly expand your capabilities by purchasing more computational resources (i.e. storage, CPU power, etc.) without worrying about reaching the limits set by your hosting provider. Essentially, the ability to scale allows you to efficiently handle and grow your site’s traffic. There is no limit to how much more you can buy, so long as your hosting provider offers it. This is a major pro of cloud hosting for WordPress.
Cons Of Cloud Hosting For WordPress
While there are many advantages to cloud hosting for WordPress, it has some significant disadvantages that users should be aware of.
Performance is one of the major concerns whenever a site makes the transition to the cloud. With all that computation taking place on remote servers, it’s no secret that speed is of the utmost importance. To achieve the best performance possible, it’s important to have a dedicated server, or use a VPS (Virtual Private Server) that is specifically designed for high performance websites. A WordPress VIP (Very Important Person) is typically the type of customer that gets a dedicated server with additional perks, like hardware acceleration and an SSL certificate to secure all communications with encrypting technology. With a dedicated or VPS, your site’s loading time will be greatly reduced, as will its ability to handle a high volume of traffic. This is a major con of cloud hosting for WordPress.
Another significant con of cloud hosting for WordPress is flexibility. As your site grows, so does your resource needs. But with the flexibility of the cloud, this is easier said than done. Because you’re not tied down to a specific server, you cannot ensure that additional resources will be available when you need them. For this reason, it’s essential to have a backup plan in place that can easily move your site to a new server instance if things go wrong. In case of a system crash, excessive load shedding, or some other critical incident, you’ll want to be able to quickly restore your site from a backup. This is why having a backup plan is essential when using the cloud for hosting WordPress websites.
Recommended Server Plans For WordPress And Cloud Hosting
There are 3 things you need to consider if you decide to host your WordPress site on the cloud. The first thing to consider is the server plan you need to purchase. This will depend on how big your site is expected to become. If you’re just starting out and don’t have much traffic yet, you may want to consider purchasing a shared hosting plan. These plans are cheaper but offer limited features. If you have the budget, consider moving up to a VPS or dedicated server plan, which will greatly increase your site’s performance and stability.
The second thing to consider is how much you’re willing to spend on storage. To give you an idea of how much storage you need, use the following formula:
- Theoretical Pageviews X 2
- 1 video + 1 gallery X 2
- A podcast X 2
- A music album X 2
- A book X 2
- Pics X 2
For example, if your site is expected to have 200,000 page views per month and you have a dedicated server, you’ll need 23 GB of storage per month. If your site has less than 10,000 page views and you have a shared hosting plan, you’ll only need around 7 GB per month. The more storage you have, the more features your site will be able to utilize. Having a lot of storage is essential for any WordPress site. Remember, the more you have, the more you’ll need to pay for. This is why the third thing to consider when using the cloud for hosting WordPress websites is bandwidth. Just like storage, bandwidth is also something you need to budget for. To give you an idea of how much bandwidth you need, use the following formula:
- Theoretical Pageviews X 2
- 100,000 visits per month
- A standard plan from Bluehost
- 65 GB per month
- Download speed of 25 Mbps
- Upload speed of 2 Mbps
- Features like free backups, domain privacy, etc.
- The ability to easily migrate to a new server
As you can see from the examples above, it’s essential to have a dedicated or VPS server for the best performance and stability of your WordPress site. If you decide to use the cloud for hosting, make sure to purchase enough resources (i.e. storage and bandwidth) to handle your site’s anticipated growth.